That's more than tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, and earthquakes COMBINED!  Does that sound like a false of sense of security to you? Of course it does, you think your home, the biggest investment you will ever make, has been treated and PROTECTED from termites.  When in fact, the pest company (of your sellers choice) has never even laid eyes on your actual house,  much less treated it .  If you don't think it happens, trust me, it happens all the time.  I personally know of two local Fort Smith companies that is in court today (12/13/2010) because of the exact same thing.  An unknowing family moved into their house with a clean bill of "termite" health, you could call it,) and a few months later they discovered well over $20,000 worth of termite damage no one ever knew about because no one has ever SHOWED UP to inspect! This is one of many examples I personally have.  Now,  I will not throw these companies under the bus publicly, but you can email me at justin@extermco.com and I will be more than happy to let you in on it.

I'm by no means saying that every single time someone buys a house they are gettting "ripped off" on the termite end, because I'm not. I'm saying you can get estimates from all walks of life.  National chains with their national prices, landscape companies pretending to be pest control companies, and the ever so growing popular "fly by nighters"  that don't know the first thing about the industry.

When looking for your pest company look for somone established, local, and a great reputation. Ask around, trust me they're are only a handful of great companies till out there, you just have to look for them.